"Will never unsee that":Candace Owens reacts to AI-generated photo that allegedly turned Brigitte Macron's brother Jean-Michel Trogneux "into a woman"

Candace Owens has repeatedly alleged that French first lady Brigitte Macron was born as a man and her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux took her identity. The podcaster released a dedicated series, titled Becoming Brigitte, based on these claims in February 2025.

Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, filed a defamation lawsuit against Owens on July 23, 2025. However, following the lawsuit, the conservative podcaster doubled down on her controversial claims. Candace Owens recently added new episodes to the series following the lawsuit.

In the latest episode uploaded on September 9, Candace Owens claimed that an individual used the gender swap feature on a picture of Jean-Michel Trogneux on the FaceApp and turned it "into a woman." The podcaster presented both edited and unedited versions of Trogneux’s picture, insinuating that the edited image resembled Brigitte Macron.

"So this person was playing around and put up a picture of Jean-Michel Trogneux and just turned it into a woman. And look at this. This is obviously doctored, but take a look at this. Amazing. That is amazing... This is what is done by AI... I will never unsee that. I will absolutely never unsee that. It is amazing," Candace Owens reacted.

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Other instances Candace Owens linked Brigitte Macron to Jean-Michel Trogneux

Candace Owens

@RealCandaceO

INCREDIBLE. Months ago, Brigitte’s legal team sent me a letter insisting that her missing brother, Jean Michel Trogneux, was ‘alive and well’. Today Marlene Schiappa (Brigitte’s close friend) insists that Jean Michel Trogneux is now dead. Did he die suddenly following

The podcaster had repeatedly linked Brigitte Macron to Jean-Michel Trogneux on several occasions in her videos and on X. In her May 29 tweet, the political commentator raised questions about the claimed death of Jean-Michel Trogneux.

"INCREDIBLE. Months ago, Brigitte’s legal team sent me a letter insisting that her missing brother, Jean Michel Trogneux, was ‘alive and well.’ Today Marlene Schiappa (Brigitte’s close friend) insists that Jean Michel Trogneux is now dead. Did he die suddenly following #BecomingBrigitte? OR…did he ‘transition’ decades ago, groom the current President of France in his youth, and is now the sitting First Lady of France?"

Weeks ago, she shared another post on August 21 in which she claimed that someone found Jean-Michel Trogneux entering the United States in the 60s, adding that it was the time when the First Lady of France was also in the States. The podcaster also posted a video on YouTube dedicated to this claim.

Candace Owens

@RealCandaceO

Currently freaking out because someone found a Jean “M” Trogneux entering into the United States in the 60’s. Which is the decade during which Brigitte Macron claims she was here. Could it be?! Join us LIVE for our final episode before break.

Recently, on the September 8 episode of her podcast, Owens linked the First Lady of France's gait and sitting posture with Jean-Michel Trogneux. The political commentator played a video of Brigitte Macron walking and pointed at her legs. She then played another video showing Macron sitting on a sofa, commenting that the posture was uncharacteristic of a woman.

"There's something about the manner that Brijitte is sitting that you look at that as a woman, and you go That's just not the way that women sit, right? Uh, we do not widespread in that manner. We tend to understand that when you look at that image, you're looking at somebody that is a dude."

Pointing to the gait of the First Lady of France, Owens suggested that it was "quite military." The podcaster linked this with Jean-Michel Trogneux by claiming that he served in the military.

"Now, to remind you guys, Jean-Michel Trogneux, Brigitte's quote-unquote brother, has a military file that the government is refusing to release for whatever reason. It is a pretty long military tenure, and this is when Jean-Michel Trogneux sort of just disappears," Owens said.

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Candace Owens is facing a defamation lawsuit by the French First Couple. The Macrons filed the suit in a Delaware court on July 23. Owens called the lawsuit a "PR strategy" and has slammed the legal filing in many of her podcasts.